Gov. Ed Herschler of Wyoming in his opening address to the legislature has asked lawmakers not to subject the state department of education to cuts over the next biennium any deeper than the 6-percent reduction he recommended in his budget. He termed “arbitrary and partisan” a proposal by the Republican-controlled Joint Appropriations Committee to cut the agency’s budget by another 3 to 4 percent.
State aid to school districts is expected to remain at about $175 million, although the education department is seeking some refinements in the way the money is distributed. (See Education Week, Feb. 22, 1984.)
But as a means of addressing the state’s revenue problems, State Superintendent Lynn O. Simons joined other state-agency heads in submitting a pared-down budget request for the 1985-86 biennium. According to Dennis J. Kane, the department’s spokesman, the department’s request was for $7.5 million, about $500,000 less than it sought for the last biennium.
Governor Herschler, addressing the legislature as it opened its 20-day budget session this month, said the budget was “thoughtful, responsible, and constructive,” and should be passed as submitted.--pc
